A Trio’s Childhood
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: What if Poppy and Minerva met Tom Riddle when they were four and Tom three years old? A story about the life of three magical children. Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Poppy
1. Chapter 1

**A Trio****'s Childhood**

_What if Poppy and Minerva met Tom Riddle when they were four and Tom three years old? A story about the childhood of three magical children, who were more or less growing up together._

_**Prologue**_

On May 26th, 1926, a witch was born in St. Mungo's hospital. The pregnancy had been very dangerous and complicated, because the mother had come down with a magical illness called the basilisk pox two months before the due date. The baby had caught the illness from her but had, in contrary to her mother, survived the pregnancy. However, the girl's immune system had been compromised, causing the child to be very prone to magical illnesses.

The girl grew up with her father, who was a Potions specialist at St. Mungo's, and the family's house-elves. She was a very bright and friendly child and had many friends in the neighbourhood in Hogsmeade. However, whenever one of her friends came down with a magical illness, she could be sure to catch it.

Fortunately, her grandmother Theresa was a Mediwitch, currently residing at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. She could easily take the Floo down to her son's home at Hogsmeade to look after her little granddaughter when she caught the wizard's flu or some other magical illness.

When the little girl was three years old, she decided that she wanted to become a Mediwitch or a Healer when she was big, so she could help sick people, just like her grandmother always managed to make her feel better in the blink of an eye.

On a fateful day shortly after the girl's fourth birthday, her father had a major potions accident in his lab, which he did not survive.

_**Chapter 1**_

"I believe it would be better if I took Poppy with me to Hogwarts," Theresa said thoughtfully. "Even considering the problems with her immune system, I can't see any better solution."

"Going to Hogwarts with you would be the best for Poppy of course, but won't it be too much for you? A four-year-old can do a lot of mischief at Hogwarts," her head house-elf Pandora replied. The elf felt really bad since she loved the small child dearly and would certainly miss her, but it would surely be better for her to grow up with her grandmother than only in the care of the three house-elves at the old Pomfrey house.

"Well, then she'll be in good company," Theresa smirked, pulling her granddaughter onto her lap. "Do you want to come live at Hogwarts with me, sweetie?"

"Hogwars?" Poppy cheered. "Yay."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On the first of June, a few days after her fourth birthday, Poppy accompanied her grandmother to Hogwarts, very excited to be able to live at the school, which seemed to be the most interesting place in the world to the small girl.

"Poppy, in two weeks' time, the summer holidays are going to begin, and I'll have much time to play with you. We can also go and visit my friend Ginevra and her granddaughter Minerva. However, until the holidays begin I have to look after the sick students, and you must stay in my office or in your own room," Theresa instructed her granddaughter as she showed her to her new room, which the house-elves had added to her private quarters. "From September onwards, Ginevra and Minerva will come to Hogwarts every day, and Ginevra will teach Minerva and you to read and write, as well as other things, which you need to learn."

Poppy nodded enthusiastically at her grandmother. She had already met Minerva a few times, because Minerva was growing up with her grandmother, who had been Theresa's best friend since they had attended Hogwarts together.

"I'd like that a lot," she replied happily, glancing around her new room. The relatively large room was kept in light blue, and apart from the most necessary furniture it contained of a playing corner with a children's table and four children's chairs. Right next to the table was a small bookshelf, already containing a few small booklets. "Is this where we will study?" she queried, before her eyes were pulled to the charmed window on the opposite wall.

"That depends on Ginevra, but you could study here," Theresa agreed. "Otherwise, you could use one of the empty classrooms within the castle."

"This is too funny," Poppy exclaimed, standing in front of the charmed window and looking at the lake, where the Giant Squid was playfully splashing around.

"Very well, Poppy; do you think you can occupy yourself for a while? I need to check on my patients, and later today I have to attend a staff meeting, to which you can accompany me if you like."

"I want to check on the patients with you," Poppy replied firmly. "I want to learn help people."

"Poppy," Theresa replied in exasperation, "I promise that I'll teach you when you're a bit older. You're likely to get sick whenever you're together with someone who is ill. Therefore, I'd like to wait a bit. Please try to stay away from the sick students the best you can."

Poppy threw her grandmother a sad look but knew better than to contradict. '_I'll just watch from farther away_,' she decided and silently followed her grandmother through her office into the hospital wing, lingering in a shadow under one of the windows, where Theresa couldn't easily see her. Poppy watched interestedly how her grandmother checked on one of the two students in the room. She waved her wand over the student, causing a small piece of parchment to emerge from the tip of her wand. After a look on the parchment, Theresa sighed and shook her head, before she pointed her wand at the student's head, making a number appear in the air. Finally, the Mediwitch conjured a cloth, which she used to gently wipe the student's face. '_He probably has a fever. His face looks very red_,' Poppy thought knowingly as she remembered what her granny had told her father when she had been ill a few weeks ago.

Poppy watched as her grandmother made the boy drink two potions, before she turned to the girl in the other bed and repeated the process. When Theresa gently tucked the girl in after feeding her the potions, Poppy hurried back to her own room, knowing that it probably wouldn't take long for her grandmother to return to her office.

During the day, Poppy watched a few more times how Theresa looked after the sick students. '_Granny is so cool_,' she mused, more than ever wanting to become a Mediwitch as well.

"All right, Poppy; do you want to accompany me to the staff meeting?" Theresa queried late in the afternoon, watching as the girl excitedly jumped up from the floor and slid her small hand into her own.

Together, they walked through the amazing corridors with the moving paintings on both sides of the way. '_I love this place, and I'd like to talk with the people in the pictures. Sure they'd be able to tell me a story_,' Poppy mused while they walked to the staffroom.

"This is my granddaughter Poppy," Theresa introduced her to the two elder men in the room, before she turned to her and explained, "Headmaster Dippet and the Gryffindor Head of House and Transfiguration teacher, Professor Dumbledore."

"Hello," Poppy said shyly, reluctantly taking the candy the Professor offered her gently. '_Oh, this is sweet and sour at the same time_,' she realised in amazement as she eagerly sucked on the lemon drop, while more teachers filed into the room. At first, Poppy listened to the teachers' talking, but after a little while it became very boring. She let out a huge yawn, suddenly noticing the lemon drop had made her throat very sore.

"Would you like to draw a picture?" the lady her grandmother had introduced as Professor McKenzie, the Head of Slytherin, asked kindly, causing Poppy to shake her head.

"No, thank you," she replied politely and climbed onto her grandmother's lap, leaning into Theresa's robes.

"Are you all right, little one?" Theresa whispered in concern, gently rubbing circles into the child's back.

"Yes," Poppy whispered back, tiredly leaning into the soft touch. By the time the staff meeting ended and Headmaster Dippet reminded them dinner was going to begin, Poppy was fast asleep.

"Is she all right?" Professor McKenzie enquired when everyone else had left the room and Theresa still struggled with a sleeping Poppy cradled deeply into her robes.

"I'm afraid not," Theresa replied, handing the girl into her colleague's outstretched arms, so she could check on her. She pointed her wand at Poppy's head, sighing in desperation as she realized the girl was running a temperature.

"The candy made my throat sore," Poppy whispered, slowly waking up.

"I don't think so, sweetie. You caught the throat infection from one of the students in the infirmary," Theresa explained gently, taking her back from her colleague. "She is very prone to magical illnesses, and her immune system was probably unable to cope with the many viruses she was exposed to in the hospital wing earlier."

"Tell me exactly what you need, and I'll brew the children's potions for you," McKenzie offered, causing Theresa to throw her a grateful look.

"I need something for her throat and for the fever, but so far I could always get potions for her from St. Mungo's," she replied, hesitantly.

"You don't have to call St. Mungo's," McKenzie said gently. "It's no problem for me to brew the potions Poppy needs. I'll brew a batch of each right now. They should be ready in an hour."

Theresa gratefully accepted the offer, knowing that it probably wouldn't take long before she'd need the potions again.

"Well, let's go back to our quarters and put you to bed," she told Poppy and led her back to her new room.

'_Oh no, I hate being sick, especially on my first day here at Hogwarts_,' Poppy mused as she scrambled into bed, glad to be able to lie down.

Theresa spent the next hour gently bathing Poppy's flushed face with a cold towel, before the Potions Mistress brought the potions for Poppy that caused the small girl to drift off into a healing sleep.

When Theresa went to bed a few hours later, she took Poppy with her to her own bed to cuddle and comfort the sick child during the night.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Poppy woke up feeling much better. She looked around curiously. '_Where am I_?' she thought, '_and where did Granny go_?' She scrambled out of Theresa's bed and went to search for her grandmother, who was nowhere to be seen.

'_Maybe she's in the hospital wing_,' Poppy mused as she stepped through the connecting door from her own room into the Mediwitch's office. However, Theresa was not in her office either, and Poppy hesitantly walked out into the wing.

"Are you looking for your grandmother?" the boy in the closest bed queried, causing Poppy to nod, frightened. "She was called to Hufflepuff, but she said she'd be back soon," the boy explained in a gentle voice.

"'Kay, thank you," Poppy replied shyly and wondered what to do, when the doors of the hospital wing opened and a girl stepped in, anxiously looking around.

"My granny is away for a moment," Poppy addressed the girl, taking in that her cheeks were flushed and she was shivering in spite of the warmth of the room, which was flooded by blazing sunshine. "I think you have a fever," she told the girl. "You better lie down." She gently took the girl's hand, noticing that it felt hot to the touch, and pulled her to the nearest bed, motioning her to lie down. Then she fetched a wet towel from Theresa's office and returned to the girl's side. She gently smothered the bed covers over her and adjusted the wet towel to her forehead. "Are you in pain? Do you need my granny very urgently?" she queried in concern, causing the student to throw her a smile.

"No, thank you. I don't feel so well and Professor McKenzie sent me here, but I'm all right for the moment. Thank you so much for your help," the girl replied in a very gentle but hoarse voice.

"Does your throat hurt?" Poppy enquired, remembering how sore her throat had been the night before and that she had been very thirsty. "I fetch something to drink for you," she promised when the student replied positively and dashed away only to return a minute later with a glass of cold water.

Just then, Theresa returned to the hospital wing, groaning in exasperation as she noticed Poppy, who just tucked the girl in again and re-adjusted the towel to her forehead.

"Poppy, what do you think you're doing here?" she asked, annoyed.

"She helped me and made me feel much better," the student explained quickly, causing Theresa to instantly switch into Healer mode.

Poppy watched interestedly as her grandmother cast a diagnostic spell and took the girl's temperature, before she fetched a few potions, which she made her swallow. "Susan, you have a bad throat infection and will have to stay here at least overnight," she told the girl and promised to check on her again later.

"Thank you, Poppy," Susan said to Poppy as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Back in Theresa's office, Theresa made Poppy sit on a chair opposite to herself and checked on the girl, nodding contentedly.

"Poppy, what you did was very kind, but you know you have to stay away from the sick students so you won't get ill as well," she told her in a stern voice, looking intensely at the little girl.

"I know, Granny, but I want to help the students, and they're really nice," Poppy replied in a small voice. "And I feel really fine."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In spite of Theresa's instructions, during the next two weeks until the beginning of the holidays, Poppy always tried to make the sick students feel better as soon as her grandmother left the hospital wing for a short time. Every now and then, she came down with whatever was ailing the students, but fortunately the potions Professor McKenzie brewed for her worked wonders. Nevertheless, Theresa was glad when the holidays finally began, hoping Poppy would be able to get some rest from being sick.

"The castle is so quiet," Poppy said sadly when her grandmother tucked her in on the first evening after the students had returned home. "When can we meet Minnie?"

Theresa sighed. Poppy hadn't one hundred percent recovered from a bad case of the wizard's flu she had caught on the last day of classes. "As soon as your fever is completely gone, I'll Floo-call Ginevra and invite her to come and visit us," she promised gently, softly stroking her granddaughter's flushed cheeks. '_Maybe we should go and visit them at McGonagall Manor, but I don't want Poppy to travel by Floo if it isn't absolutely necessary. Who knows what kind of magical illness she could catch on the way_?' she thought.

"Granny, may I sleep in your bed?" Poppy whispered, looking pleadingly at Theresa.

"Of course, sweetie. You know that I always take you with me into my bed when you're ill, but my colleagues will come and have tea together in my office or in the living room like every evening. When they're gone, I'll go to bed and take you with me as always."

"Kay," Poppy replied sleepily, already closing her eyes.

Two days later, Theresa finally deemed Poppy fit enough to meet Minerva.

_

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tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

_**A Trio's Childhood – Chapter 2**_

A few days after the beginning of the holidays, Theresa's friend Ginevra came to Hogwarts with her granddaughter Minerva in tow. Since Minerva's mother had died of a sudden illness a year ago, Minerva had been living with her grandmother, who had agreed with the child's Muggle father to take the girl in to raise her in a magical surrounding at McGonagall Manor.

Poppy suddenly felt very shy and tried to hide behind her grandmother's robes. However, Minerva slowly extended a hand to her and said gently, "Hello Poppy, I'm so happy to meet you."

"Hi Minnie, I couldn't wait to meet you too," Poppy replied happily and politely greeted Mrs. McGonagall, before she turned back to her friend and asked hesitantly, "Shall we go and play in my room?"

Minerva agreed immediately, and the two girls busied themselves playing with Poppy's favourite teddy bear. It was charmed to change its colour whenever Poppy looked into its eyes, and if she pressed its right foot, it would change into an owl and Poppy could attach a parchment to its foot. If she told the owl to deliver the letter, the owl would take off and fly across the room, until someone said, "Give it to me."

The two four-year-olds spent an hour sending each other letters, containing paintings and single words or small sentences in writing. Minerva was nearly eight months older than Poppy and had already a bit more writing experience than her friend, but the two girls had a lot of fun.

However, when their grandmothers entered the room and asked, "Would you like to go flying?" they began to jump up and down in excitement.

"Poppy received her first broom for her birthday," Theresa explained to her friend, "but first her father died and after I brought her to Hogwarts she was sick most of the time, so we didn't have the opportunity to fly yet."

"I only taught Minerva how to fly a few weeks ago. She received her first broom on Christmas," Ginevra replied as she pulled Minerva's broom out of her robe pocket and enlarged it.

"Come Poppy, I show you," Minerva shouted in excitement, pulling the slightly smaller girl with her down the stairs.

Before Theresa and Ginevra had even left the castle, Minerva and Poppy were already sitting on their brooms and flying slowly and at a low height around the Quidditch pitch.

"I'll give them an hour, before they fly as fast and high as their brooms let them," Theresa chuckled, causing Ginevra to nod knowingly.

"Did you get used to living together with a child?" Ginevra queried.

"Yes. I'm slowly getting over the shock of what happened to Desmond, but I'm really glad to have Poppy here. She's such a good girl. I wouldn't want to be without her anymore, even if I feel bad for her, because she sneaks into the hospital wing to comfort the sick students every now and then, which causes her to fall ill too frequently. She always wants to help everyone, even if she knows that it won't do her good."

"Theresa, if something goes around that might be dangerous for Poppy, remember that I'm always willing to take her in for a while, even for a few years if that would be better for her," Ginevra replied gently. "However, I believe you did the right thing when you brought her here to live with you."

"Thank you, Gin," Theresa said, feeling slightly relieved at her friend's encouraging words. "Now that the students have gone home, Poppy feels a bit lonely in the huge castle though."

"We can begin with our schooling from July onwards," Ginevra suggested thoughtfully. "There is no reason why we should have to wait until September."

"Maybe that's a good idea. Perhaps you could teach them in the morning, and I take them out to play here or even on the playground in Hogsmeade in the afternoon. I also thought about taking Poppy to the Pomfrey house in Hogsmeade for a few weeks."

"If you were able to get away from Hogwarts, you could come and stay at McGonagall Manor with us, or perhaps we could stay with you at Hogsmeade for a while," Ginevra suggested, watching how Poppy playfully tried to catch Minerva on her broom.

"During the holidays, that wouldn't be a problem," Theresa agreed thoughtfully. "I think Poppy would like to return to Hogsmeade for a while. She has many friends living in the neighbourhood, and I'm sure she'd be happy to have Minerva with her for a while."

The two witches agreed to move to Hogsmeade on the next day and spend a week together, before Theresa and Poppy would visit Ginevra and Minerva at McGonagall Manor. The children were very happy and excited at the news.

"Then you'll be like my little sister," Minerva said happily, gently hugging Poppy.

"Can we play with Leo and Logan and the others?" Poppy asked eagerly, before she turned to Minerva, explaining, "They're my bestest friends. You'll like them. They're too funny."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

The next morning, Theresa and Poppy walked down to Hogsmeade.

"When will Minnie come?" Poppy queried after pulling the house-elves in bear hugs.

"Minerva and her granny will arrive around lunchtime. Poppy, do you want to share your room with Minerva, or would you prefer if she stayed in the room next to you?" Theresa enquired gently, softly pushing an errand strand of hair out of her granddaughter's face.

"Please, may Minnie stay in my room?" Poppy asked pleadingly, causing everyone to laugh.

"Of course, sweetie," Theresa replied, before she informed the elves about the two guests they were going to have for a week.

HP

Seeing that Leo and Logan were playing outside in the garden that was adjacent to the Pomfrey's, Poppy hurried outside to join them, and the three children had so much fun that Poppy was surprised to see Minerva heading over to them.

"Minnie!" she shouted excitedly as she happily jumped up and down on both feet and waved her friend over. "That's Minnie," she told Leo and Logan, before she introduced the twins to Minerva.

"You look exactly like each other," Minerva stated in complete amazement. "How can people distinguish you?"

"They can't," the twins replied, smiling, just when their mother called them in for lunch.

"Poppy, shall we meet on the playground later on?" they enquired, barely waiting for her confirming reply as they took off towards the house.

"Let's ask granny if we can go to the playground," Poppy suggested, and the two girls eagerly returned to the house.

"You're just right in time. I was just about to call you for lunch," Theresa greeted them gently. "Please go and wash your hands."

The two girls complied and after lunch, they were allowed to go to the playground, which was just around the corner from the Pomfrey house. Minerva shyly tried to hide behind Poppy, seeing that not only the funny twins were playing on the playground but it was full with children.

"It's all right, Minnie. They're all nice," Poppy whispered and introduced the other children. Dorea, Miranda, and Carlotta were a few years older than them, Susan was five, and Walburga and Lucretia were four years like the twins, Minerva, and Poppy. Bob and Orion were a year younger.

Soon, all the children were playing together with the red ball Poppy had brought with her, until the twins' grandmother came by and brought ice-cream for all of them. The bigger children helped the smaller ones to unwrap their ice-creams, and shortly later, everyone was sitting in the grass, enjoying the cool delicacy.

When everyone had finished eating, they decided to play hide and seek. "Come, Minnie," Poppy whispered, pulling her friend with her to hide in a hole of a tree trunk.

It took quite a while, before Susan found them and it was Dorea's turn to search. For the bigger children it was much easier to find the others, because they already knew the playground well. Soon, Minerva became used to the other children and was willing to hide on her own when it was Poppy's turn.

Poppy looked around but couldn't see anyone on the first glance. '_Well, I'll just have to look everywhere_,' she thought and ran towards one end of the park, seeing from the corner of her eyes that Minerva was hiding behind a tree. '_No, I'm not going to catch Minnie first_,' she mused and made her way to the large tree, where they had hidden before. However, when she glanced around the tree, she stopped dead in her tracks. Susan was hiding behind the tree, but she was leaning against the trunk with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knees. Poppy took in the visible part of Susan's face that was flushed and covered with beads of sweat.

"Susan, what's wrong?" she queried softly. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I don't know. I don't feel so good," Susan replied, sounding slightly hoarse as a small shiver ran through her body.

The hide and seek game completely forgotten, Poppy crouched in front of her friend and carefully extended a hand to feel the girl's forehead, noticing that it felt a bit warm to the touch. She felt her own forehead just to be sure that it was much cooler than Susan's, before she said, "Susan, I think you have a fever. Let me just tell the others and then I'll take you home." She shouted for the others and explained someone else had to search because she'd accompany Susan home.

"Can I come with you?" Minerva asked, throwing Poppy a questioning look.

"Of course you can come, or you can wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes," Poppy said firmly and hurried back to Susan, followed closely by Minerva.

Poppy and Minerva took each of Susan's hands and slowly walked home with the girl, who lived across the street from the Pomfrey house. "Susan doesn't feel well, and I think she has a fever," Poppy quickly explained to Susan's mother.

"Thank you, Poppy, for accompanying Susan home. She really looks ill. We'll see how bad it is and if necessary call a Healer," Susan's mother replied as she picked her daughter up and cuddled her close.

"My granny is at home. Shall I ask her to check on Susan?" Poppy offered gently, knowing that her grandmother often looked after people in the neighbourhood when she was in Hogsmeade.

Susan's mother hesitantly agreed, and Poppy and Minerva hurried to fetch Theresa, who sent the two girls back to the playground as she went to check on Susan.

"No, Poppy, you're not going to accompany me. You can be glad if you didn't already catch what Susan has anyway," she told her granddaughter in a firm voice that Poppy knew better than to contradict.

The children spent the rest of the afternoon on the playground, having a lot of fun. They played until their parents or grandparents called them home for dinner and agreed to meet on the playground again on the next day.

"Susan has caught the infection that is going around the magical world at the moment," Theresa informed them at dinner, throwing Poppy a worried look. "I hope you didn't catch it from her. I better give both of you a Pepperup potion before you go to bed tonight."

"I'm fine!" Poppy replied. "Can Minnie and I go out again after dinner?"

"No, you'll take a bath and go to bed right after dinner. It's nearly seven o'clock already," Theresa replied sternly, causing Ginevra to nod her agreement.

"Can we take a bath together?" Poppy asked excitedly, throwing Minerva a mischievous smile.

Theresa and Ginevra gave in, and the two girls had much fun playing in the bathtub with swimming toy dragons Ginevra conjured for them. Afterwards, Theresa made each of them drink a small goblet full of Pepperup potion, before she gently tucked the girls in. When she left the room, Ginevra sat on the edge of Minerva's bed and read the first story of '_The Tales of Beedle the Bard_' for them. Knowing that they would drift off to sleep within minutes, she then turned off the light with a flick of her wand and returned to the living room.

"Night, Minnie. I'm glad you're here," Poppy mumbled tiredly, causing a huge smile to appear on Minerva's face.

"I'm happy to be here, Poppy," she replied, yawning.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Poppy woke up by Minerva's excited voice. "Look, Poppy, there's a market or something."

"Sometimes there is," Poppy replied, noticing that her throat was sore and she felt absolutely miserable.

"Poppy, are you all right?" Minerva asked worriedly, sitting on the edge of her friend's bed.

"No," Poppy groaned. "Sorry, I think I can't go to the playground with you today, but you can go and play with the others.

Minerva slowly reached for Poppy's hand, letting out a gasp at the heat her friend radiated. "I go and fetch your granny," she promised, hurriedly leaving the room. Two minutes later, she returned with Theresa in tow.

"Poppy, what's wrong?" her grandmother's voice caused Poppy to open her achy eyes again.

"I feel hot and cold, and my head and throat hurt," Poppy whispered.

Theresa groaned inwardly, casting a diagnostic spell at the girl. "You caught the infection from Susan," she sighed. She called Pandora, asking the elf for a few potions, which she spelled straight into the girl's system, knowing that she probably felt much too dizzy to sit up and drink the potions.

Poppy had to remain in bed for three days. However, her fever was so high and she was feeling so unwell that she couldn't even think about doing anything else, although she felt very sorry for Minerva. Minerva spent most of the day at her side, talking to her in a soft voice and bathing her burning face with a cool cloth every now and then. Only when Theresa threw her out and ordered her to go to the playground to get some fresh air, she complied and went to play with the other children for a while.

Fortunately, Minerva didn't get ill, and when Poppy was finally allowed out of bed, the two girls immediately wanted to head out to the playground again.

"No," Theresa told them firmly. "Poppy, you're still weak from your illness, and I don't want you to catch anything else so soon.

"I know what we can do," Ginevra spoke up. "I know a Muggle playground, where Minerva and I have been a few times. Perhaps we could take the kids there today."

Theresa agreed, and the two witches took their granddaughters to the Muggle playground, glad that they could apparate straight from Hogsmeade to the playground. The playground didn't have so many old, large trees like the one in Hogsmeade, but it was much bigger, and there were many children playing around.

"Part of them seems to belong to the orphanage, which is right around the corner," Ginevra whispered to Theresa, nodding over to a group of children.

Poppy and Minerva played with the ball Poppy had brought with her for a while, and their grandmothers watched them from a near-by bench. All of a sudden, a boy, who so far had been playing far away from the other children, looked at the colourful red ball Poppy was just throwing at Minerva, and the ball instantly changed its direction, flying over to the boy, who was a bit smaller than Poppy.

"The boy must be a wizard," Theresa said to Ginevra, causing Poppy to recover from her shock and ran after her ball.

"Hello," she said friendly. "I'm Poppy, and that's my friend Minnie. Do you want to play with us?"

"I'm Tom," the boy replied abrasively, "Tom Riddle, and I don't play with normal kids."

_

* * *

tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Trio's Childhood – Chapter **__**3**_

"What do you mean with 'normal'?" Minerva enquired. "You're as normal as we are."

"If you mean what you did to my ball, we can do that too. We're witches," Poppy said indignantly.

"Really?" Tom asked interestedly. "Can I come with you? The other kids can't do anything. They are boring."

Minerva and Poppy exchanged an unsure glance. "Let's talk to my grandmother. Maybe she can help you," Poppy said thoughtfully, pulling the boy along to Theresa.

"Do you belong to the orphanage?" Theresa asked gently after listening to what Poppy told her.

"Yes," Tom replied darkly.

"Well, then let me have a talk to the ladies from the orphanage, and we'll see if there is anything I can do for you," Theresa promised, smiling at the small boy, who seemed to be a few months younger than Poppy.

"He absolutely despises other children. If he was willing to play with your kids, it would be a huge relief for everyone if you could take him in," the lady, who was responsible for Tom, told Theresa.

After a longer conversation, everyone agreed that Tom should visit Poppy and Minerva for a day to see if he would get along with them.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

The next morning, Theresa apparated to the orphanage to fetch Tom, who looked at her in absolute amazement when she apparated back to Hogsmeade with him. His eyes widened in even more excitement when he stepped into the garden after Theresa, where Poppy and Minerva were flying around on their children's brooms.

"Cool," he breathed.

"Hi Tom," Poppy greeted him as she descended from the air, followed closely by Minerva.

"How do you do that?" Tom queried, unable to take his eyes from the broom.

"Let Minnie show you," Poppy said, laughing at the boy's excitement, which she could only understand too well, and handed him her broom.

During the following hours, the children took turns flying, before they spent the afternoon on the playground as usual after assuring Tom that all the children he'd meet there were magical.

Theresa and Ginevra secretly watched the children from the window in the attic. "Tom is not different from them at all. He plays with them as if he had always been here," Ginevra stated thoughtfully.

"That's true. Apparently, he only has problems at the orphanage, because he senses that he is different from the other kids. Maybe I should let him stay here for a week and if everything goes well adopt him," Theresa pondered, causing her friend to smile.

"I think that's a good idea. It must be frustrating for him to grow up with Muggle kids, knowing that he doesn't fit in," Ginevra said reassuringly.

"Well, let's call the kids and talk to them. It's nearly time for dinner anyway," Theresa replied and called for Poppy.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

After dinner, Theresa and Tom apparated back to the orphanage. However, when they re-appeared in a small side street, Tom wasn't willing to let go of Theresa. He clung to her robes and sobbed, "No, please don't make me go back there!"

"It's all right, little one. If you're sure you want to stay with Poppy and me, you may come and live with us," Theresa said softly, gently rubbing circles into the child's back to calm him down, before she led him into the orphanage and agreed with the head of the orphanage to keep Tom for a week to see how it worked to have him at her home for a longer period.

"Thank you," Tom breathed happily as the Pomfrey house materialized in front of his eyes.

"Tom, you're back!" Poppy shouted and rushed over to his side, pulling him into a bear hug.

"Hi," Tom said, blushing in the girl's embrace.

"Well, it's time to go to bed," Theresa said gently, watching the children's interactions in amusement. '_Poppy really is a sweet child_,' she thought, feeling very proud of her granddaughter.

While Theresa and Ginevra bathed the three children, the house-elves prepared the room next to Poppy's for Tom.

"Gin, I suggest you read the girls a story, and I do the same for Tom," Theresa suggested after drying the kids up and putting their pyjamas on.

"No!" Poppy protested firmly. "Minnie and I can sit on Tom's bed when you read."

Tom threw the girl a huge smile, thinking she was the nicest person he had ever met.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the following days, the three children enjoyed each other's company greatly. Seeing that they were playing nicely together and considering that it was summer holidays, the two elder ladies decided to let them do as they wished, provided they always knew where they were and the children obeyed as soon as they were called.

One day, the three children headed out in the garden to spend the morning flying as usual. Theresa and Ginevra were occupying themselves playing wizard's chess like they normally did when the kids were playing in the garden. "Maybe I should go and buy a broom for Tom," Theresa spoke up thoughtfully, and Ginevra agreed immediately.

"Do that, Althy, I'm here and keep an eye on the kids," she said gently, smiling at her friend.

Outside in the garden, Poppy handed Tom her broom and said, "Here, Tom, you can fly today. I'll watch." With that, she sat on the grass and observed as her friends took into the air, before she curled up in the grass. '_I feel as if I was getting sick_,' she mused, glad to be able to rest in the grass for a moment.

However, a few minutes later, Minerva and Tom noticed their always energetic friend lying in the grass, unmoving, and worriedly flew over to Poppy, crouching on the ground next to her.

"Poppy, what's wrong?" Tom queried in concern, while Minerva gently laid her hand on Poppy's forehead like she had watched Poppy do to others when they were sick.

Poppy unconsciously leaned into the cold touch. "Feels good," she mumbled, putting her own hand over Minerva's to keep her friend's cold hand in place.

"I think Poppy is ill. She feels very warm," Minerva explained to Tom in a small voice, before she asked her friend, "Poppy, do you want to go to bed?"

"No," Poppy replied and slowly opened her eyes. "I don't feel ill; I'm just a bit tired," she lied, not wanting her friends to worry, especially as she noticed Tom watching her with a terrified expression on his face.

"I go and fetch Granny Theresa," Tom offered and, seeing Minerva nod, ran into the house, only to return with Ginevra a few minutes later.

"Poppy, are you ill?" Ginevra asked softly, gently picking the girl up into her arms.

"Only my head and my eyes hurt a bit," Poppy whispered, sighing in relief as she nestled into the woman's robes.

When Theresa returned from the Quidditch shop, expecting the children to be playing in the garden, a very unusual sight greeted her. Poppy was lying on the sofa, covered by a light blanket and fast asleep with her head on Ginevra's lap, while Ginevra was reading a story to Minerva and Tom, who were sitting in front of Poppy on the floor.

"Is Poppy sick?" Theresa asked, alarmed, pulling her wand out of her robe pocket to cast a diagnostic spell on the child. "She has a bad headache and a temperature of 38.5 degrees, which is not too high but still quite a fever, considering that I can't find anything wrong. Maybe her immune system is trying to fight something off."

"Is she all right?" Tom queried, throwing Theresa an anxious glance.

"She will be all right, but she has to rest today. Tom and Minerva, let's have lunch, and afterwards you can go to the playground. I'll stay with Poppy and keep an eye on her," Theresa replied gently, pulling the small boy in a light hug, knowing that he loved to be cuddled after flinching back in fright the first few times Poppy had roughly hugged him.

"No, I stay with Poppy," Tom announced.

"Me too," Minerva echoed immediately.

"I believe we should take a walk to the bookshop and look for a new book to read," Ginevra suggested, causing the two children to reluctantly agree.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

While Ginevra and the two children were away and Poppy was asleep peacefully, Theresa used the quiet to Floo-call Professor Dippet and ask him to check if a boy called Tom Riddle was listed in the book with the names of future Hogwarts students.

"Yes, Tom Riddle, born on December 31st, 1926," the Headmaster replied gently.

Theresa told him everything she knew about Tom and asked if the Headmaster would mind her bringing two children back to Hogwarts in September.

"Of course I don't mind. If you adopt the boy, you have two kids and you'll of course have to bring them with you, Theresa. Just allow me one question. Did you think about a solution to provide certain schooling for them?"

Theresa sighed as she continued, "Yes, my friend, Ginevra McGonagall, agreed to teach the children together with her own granddaughter, Minerva."

"Hmmm," the Headmaster replied thoughtfully. "Theresa, I'd like to discuss this matter personally with you and your friend. Do you think you could come to my office tonight when the children are asleep?"

"I'm sorry, Armando, but we can't leave the children alone, especially as Poppy is ill at the moment. Could you perhaps come here tonight?" Theresa asked softly.

"Very well, I'll come over around eight o'clock. I hope you don't mind if I bring Albus along," the Headmaster agreed, and Theresa hurriedly finished the Floo connection, noticing that Poppy was thrashing around and nearly falling off the sofa.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

_**A Trio's Childhood – Chapter **__**4**_

The children had just drifted off to sleep, when Armando Dippet stepped out of the fireplace at the Pomfrey house, followed closely by Albus Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry to intrude at this time of the day," the Headmaster greeted Theresa and Ginevra. "Ginevra, when I talked with Theresa in the afternoon, she told me that you will be going to teach your grandchildren during the day. I thought, and Albus agrees with me, that it would be good to have a daytime class for younger magical children at Hogwarts, and I'd like to invite you to teach that class. Of course we would have to make the class open for the children from Hogsmeade as well, but in that case, you and your granddaughter would be entitled to have your own quarters at Hogwarts."

"If Theresa doesn't mind, I'd love to accept the position, but I can understand if she'd prefer Poppy to be taught in private," Ginevra replied, throwing her friend a questioning look.

"I like the idea," Theresa said thoughtfully, "and Poppy, Minerva, and Tom are good friends with the other kids from Hogsmeade."

"Very well, if you're sure, we will prepare a classroom as well as private quarters for you and Minerva," Albus said gently, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"Thank you, Albus," Ginevra replied gratefully.

"Poppy will be very happy having her best friend live in the castle with her," Theresa said, smiling at her friend.

"So will Minerva," Ginevra agreed.

Ginevra and the Headmaster exchanged a few more words and agreed that Ginevra would move to Hogwarts at the same time as Theresa returned from her holidays. With that, Dippet and Dumbledore excused themselves and returned to Hogwarts.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Poppy felt much better but was still not up to flying; so the children decided to spend the morning playing in the sand-pit in the garden. Soon, they were joined by Leo and Logan, and the five children had much fun together.

As usual, the kids decided to meet on the playground after lunch and hurriedly ate their lunch in order to be able to play as soon as possible.

Noticing that Poppy hardly ate anything and was still running a slight temperature, Theresa kept her back after lunch.

"Poppy, I think you should lie down and rest for a few minutes before going to the playground," she suggested gently, expecting her granddaughter to protest vehemently.

However, Poppy agreed immediately and retired to her room, leaving her friends to wonder what they should do and her grandmother to worry what could be wrong with her granddaughter. After gently reassuring Minerva and Tom that Poppy wouldn't mind them going ahead, Theresa went to check on Poppy, finding her fast asleep. She sat on the edge of her bed and cast a diagnostic spell on the girl, noticing that her fever was going up again. Sighing, she conjured a cool cloth, carefully adjusting it to Poppy's forehead. '_Can she have caught a Muggle illness_?' she wondered in concern as she hesitantly left the girls' room, dismissing the thought soon as she remembered that Poppy hadn't left Hogsmeade after their trip to the Muggle playground, after which a week had already passed.

Theresa and Ginevra had just begun to play chess, when Poppy sleepily came down the stairs and curled up on her grandmother's lap.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Minerva and Tom were playing in the sand with the other children on the playground. "I make a cake for Poppy," Tom said excitedly as he emptied the sand mould, which had the form of a starfish. With a terrified expression he watched as the sand went back to pieces instead of remaining in its form.

"Oh Tom, the sand is too dry. You need to mix a bit of wet sand," Minerva instructed the smaller boy gently. "Look here." She showed Tom how to make a proper sand cake with the starfish form, causing a huge smile to play on his lips.

"Thank you, Minnie," he said happily.

Minerva smiled back, before she threw the twins a worried look. "What's wrong with you? You're no fun today."

Leo and Logan glanced at each other. "My head hurts," Leo finally replied.

His brother nodded slowly, adding, "And my throat is sore."

"Then you better go home, so you can get a potion and feel better," Minerva lectured the boys, who gave her sad nods and slowly dragged themselves home.

"Minnie, I want go home look after Poppy," Tom suddenly whined, causing Minerva to take his hand and lead him home as well.

"I also miss Poppy. Without her, everything is boring," she agreed completely with the boy. They returned home, finding Poppy curled up on her grandmother's lap in the living room, and looked at her in concern.

"Poppy, shall we play together?" Tom queried softly, causing Poppy to throw him a bleary glance and mumble, "No, don't want to play with you."

Tom turned back to Minerva, a hurt expression on his face, and the two children played on the floor for a while before they decided to go flying.

"Tom is just as good a flyer as Minerva and Poppy," Theresa spoke up thoughtfully. "Maybe one day, all three of them will end up playing on a House team at Hogwarts."

"Are you going to take Tom in?" Ginevra asked softly, watching the kids fly. "Otherwise, you have to take him back to the orphanage tonight, don't you?"

"Exactly," Theresa replied, sighing. "I'd like to adopt him, but I didn't speak with Tom yet. Could you put the girls to bed after dinner, while I speak with Tom and go to the orphanage with him to either take him back or gain the guardianship over him?"

"Of course," Ginevra replied gently.

Ginevra, Minerva, and Tom ate dinner together, while Theresa spent the time thoroughly casting diagnostic spells at Poppy, who had once more retired to her own bed, claiming that Minerva and Tom were too loud. However, she couldn't find anything wrong except for the headache that probably resulted from the fever she was running.

After dinner, Theresa took Tom aside. She sat on the sofa in the living room, taking him onto her knee with his face turned towards herself. "Tom, I don't know if you're aware of the fact that the week is over, and we have to return to the orphanage tonight. If you want to remain here and live with Poppy and me, we can arrange that, but if you prefer going back to the orphanage, I'll take you back there," she said softly, gently pushing an errand strand of hair out of his small face.

"Perhaps I should better return...."

At that moment, there was a knock at the back door, and the mother of Leo and Logan entered the room. "I'm sorry for intruding like this, but the twins have some strange rash on their arms. Could you come and check on them quickly? Maybe it's contagious and we have to warn the other kids."

"All right," Theresa replied gently, before she turned back to Tom. "Tom, please think about it and wait here for me or join the girls in the meantime. I'll be back shortly."

Seeing Tom nod in understanding, Theresa hurried after the twins' mother, wondering what was ailing the boys and if that could be the problem Poppy was struggling with. She followed her neighbour into the twins' room. A glance on the boys' arms was enough to diagnose the wizard's measles, which her diagnostic spell confirmed.

"They have the wizard's measles. Absolute bed rest as long as they have a fever, which is not high yet but will go up during the next few hours. Do you have a fever reducing potion at hand?"

Seeing that her neighbour shook her head, Theresa called Pandora and ordered the elf to fetch four phials of kids' fever reducer. She made the twins drink one of the phials each and placed the others on the table, instructing the mother to administer them in the morning.

"I'll brew more of the fever reducer as well as a healing salve, which you have to spread over the rash, tonight and bring everything you'll need with me when I come to check on them again tomorrow morning. Please contact all parents of the kids that were on the playground together with the twins yesterday and today. They have to keep their children in quarantine for five days, and please tell them to contact me in case the children become sick."

Her neighbour agreed, thanking Theresa profusely, and the Mediwitch returned home, noticing that Tom was still sitting in the living room. In the meantime, Ginevra had joined him and was talking to him in a soft voice.

"The twins have the wizard's measles," Theresa quickly informed her friend.

Ginevra let out a gasp. "Do you think that is what is ailing Poppy?"

"I'm not sure," Theresa replied thoughtfully. "The incubation time is five days beginning yesterday, so she shouldn't be ill with it yet. I didn't check her for the measles, but at least she didn't have a rash when I saw her earlier. I'll thoroughly check on her and Minerva as soon as I'm back."

"You can't take Tom back to the orphanage, can you? Doesn't he have to be in quarantine? He was together with the twins all day, just like Minerva."

"No Gin, only wizards can get the wizard's measles. Tom can of course get them, but he won't be a danger to anyone in the orphanage. I'd still prefer to keep him here, but Tom told me he'd like to return to the orphanage, didn't you, sweetie?"

Tom threw her an unsure glance, but nodded before he asked, "Will I get sick like Poppy?"

Theresa sighed. "No, sweetie, you might have caught the measles from the twins, but even if you get them you'll be completely healthy again afterwards. Very well then, shall we go, Tom?" Seeing Tom nod, she pulled him into a hug and apparated straight to the playground, which was around the corner of the orphanage.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

_**A Trio's Childhood – Chapter **__**5**_

Only when they arrived in front of the orphanage, Theresa released Tom from her embrace. She crouched in front of him and looked straight into his grey eyes. "Tom, are you sure that you don't want me to adopt you? I thought you liked it at my home, and you got along so well with Poppy."

Tom broke out into tears at her kind words. "I'd love to stay with you," he sobbed, "but Poppy doesn't want me."

"Poppy doesn't want you to stay with us?" Theresa asked incredulously. "How could you think of such nonsense? Poppy loves you as if you were her little brother. Of course she wants you to stay with us, and she'd be very upset if she knew that we were here right now."

"No," Tom cried, "she told me today she doesn't want to play with me."

"Oh Tom," Theresa sighed, pulling the child in a bear hug. "Poppy was feeling too bad to play with you at that time. She had a terrible headache and a high fever and had to stay in bed, but as soon as she feels better, she'll want to play with you again."

"Really?" Tom queried, looking straight into Theresa's eyes. "I want to stay with you and Poppy," he added quietly.

"Very well then," Theresa decided, "let's go inside and tell them you won't come back."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

An hour later, they were back at the Pomfrey house, and Theresa put a very happy Tom to bed, before she worriedly checked her granddaughter for the wizard's measles.

"And?" Ginevra enquired in concern as she stepped into the room.

"Nothing," Theresa replied, frowning. "But if she doesn't show any signs of illness soon or her fever comes down, I'll have to call someone from St. Mungo's for a Healer's check-up."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Since Poppy was sick and Minerva and Tom were in quarantine and not allowed out of the house, the three children spent the following days playing in Minerva's and Poppy's room. One day, they quietly played on the floor with Poppy's Lego bricks, eagerly working together to build a zoo. However, after a short while, Poppy felt too dizzy and returned to her bed, knowing that she wasn't supposed to get up anyway.

"Sorry Tom, I'm tired," Minerva yawned, apparently not finding so much fun in the game without Poppy. She lay down on her bed and soon drifted off to sleep.

'_Strange_,' Poppy mused, observing her friend in concern when Tom came to sit on Poppy's bed.

"Poppy," he whispered as not to disturb Minerva, "My mouth hurts a bit."

"Your mouth? Do you have a sore throat?" Poppy queried, eyeing her new brother in concern. Seeing him nod, she sat up and took a spoon from her night table, motioning Tom to open his mouth. Turning around to get a better look at him, she peered into his mouth, pushing his tongue down with the back of the spoon. "I think your throat is very red, but it's a bit too dark here," she said thoughtfully and laid her hand on his forehead, before she felt her own, noticing that he felt nearly as warm as herself. Getting really worried, she reached over to the night table and picked up the thermometer, which Ginevra used to check on her when Theresa was unavailable.

"Sit back so you can lean against the pillow and open your mouth," she instructed Tom and waited for him to comply, before she sat next to him, covered both of them with her bed covers, and stuck the thermometer into his mouth. Knowing how uncomfortable he probably felt, she gently laid her left arm around his shoulders, cuddling him close while the numbers on the digital display increased.

"Three eight point three," she read from the display, knowing from her own experience everything with a three eight at the beginning was a fever. "Tom, you're sick. Lie down here and I fetch Granny for you." With that, she stood up, ignoring her pounding headache as she crossed the room.

'_Maybe Minnie is sick too_,' she suddenly thought at the sight of her friend, who was peacefully asleep. She stepped over to her friend's bed and carefully felt her forehead. '_No, she feels cooler than I_,' she mused in relief as she continued her way down the stairs to look for her grandmother.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

A quick spell alerted Theresa to the fact that Minerva and Tom had both caught the wizard's measles, and as could be expected Poppy developed the illness a few days later. Theresa conjured a third bed in the girls' bedroom, so the three children could at least spend the three weeks of bed rest together. Minerva and Tom were barely well enough to be allowed out of bed when Theresa and Ginevra had to move to Hogwarts two weeks before the beginning of the new school year, and the grandmothers decided to take a Portkey to the castle.

On Theresa's and the Headmaster's instructions, the house-elves had prepared rooms for Minerva and Tom right next to Poppy's room, and all three children's rooms had two doors, leading to both Theresa's and Ginevra's quarters. The living rooms of Theresa's and Ginervra's quarters were connected as well, so in fact they had one huge family domicile together.

"But I want to stay in one room together with Poppy," Minerva complained at the sight of her room, angrily stomping a foot onto the ground.

"Watch your behaviour, little one," her grandmother replied sternly. "Ask Poppy, and if she wants the same, we'll ask the house-elves to take the wall between your rooms off."

Of course Poppy was all in for it and a short while later, Minerva and Poppy once more shared a room like at the Pomfrey house. Unfortunately, Poppy had to spend the rest of the holidays in bed and Minerva and Tom were not willing to leave her side, so the three children didn't have the opportunity to get used to living in the castle before the students returned to Hogwarts.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning of the first of September, the pupils of the new primary school class were invited to Hogwarts together with their parents. After a short welcoming feast in the Great Hall, which the kids enjoyed greatly, noticing that all of their friends from the playground in Hogsmeade were assembled, Ginevra took the children into their new classroom that was placed opposite of the hospital wing.

While Ginevra made the smaller children draw a picture and the bigger girls write a small essay, knowing that they knew each other well so introductions were not necessary, the Headmaster talked to the parents about the issue of a permanent group Portkey, which would take the children to Hogwarts and back every day at fixed times.

Poppy felt very happy. '_I had hoped to see some of my friends here, but nearly all of them are going to attend school with us_,' she mused as she happily observed Leo and Logan, Susan, Walburga, Lucretia, Miranda, and Carlotta drew their pictures. Only Bob and Orion were missing, but Poppy knew it was because they were a year younger and would only come to the school next year. Tom was only three, too, but Theresa and Ginevra had decided to make him attend the class nonetheless since they would both busy during the day.

Ginevra observed Poppy in concern. Theresa had allowed the girl to attend the class in spite of knowing that the child still wasn't completely back to her usual cheery self. She was sitting between Minerva and Tom, who were like siblings to her, and quietly watched the other children draw. However, so far she hadn't even reached for a crayon to begin her own picture.

Minerva was completely engrossed in her drawing of Poppy and Tom. She drew both of them flying on their brooms, before she wrote underneath, '_My litel sister Poppy and our brother Tom_.' Only then, she threw a querying look at Poppy's table, frowning at the sight of her empty parchment.

Tom busied himself drawing a tall girl that slightly resembled Poppy and wore a huge smile on her face, handing out a red ball to a small boy, next to which he scribbled in untrained letters, '_TOW_.'

Ginevra chuckled inwardly at the sight of Tom's signature, knowing that Minerva had taught Poppy and Tom to write letters while they had been sick. She slowly walked around the class, looking closely at the older pupils' essays and the smaller kids' pictures. '_I can try to let Mirinda and Charlotta do the same advanced things; everyone else seems to be on a common level, although Minerva is slightly ahead of the others_,' she thought, before she leaned down to Poppy.

"Poppy, are you feeling all right?" she enquired worriedly, looking sharply into the girl's face.

"Yes," Poppy replied, smiling, not wanting to complain that she felt exhausted and had a headache. She hurriedly took a crayon and wrote in unsteady letters, '_I LOB MY SISTA MINI AND BODA TOM_,' before she propped up her elbows on the table to rest her achy head and continued watching the others. She only barely registered that Ginevra released them and asked Minerva to accompany Poppy back to their room, before she led the other children back into the Great Hall, where their parents were waiting for them.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

The ten pupils of the new children's class became quickly used to spending most part of the day together. They had classes from Monday through Friday morning until twelve o'clock, before they headed to the Great Hall for lunch, which they took at a small children's table right next to the Head table. After lunch, the smaller children had two hours of free time, which they spent in an adjacent room to their classroom, where they could read in a reading corner, play on a playground, or take a nap on one of the comfortable mattresses in the quiet corner that was separated from the rest of the room by Silencing charms. In the meantime, Ginevra taught the older children more complicated primary school knowledge. Later, all pupils had another class together, before the seven children from Hogsmeade took their Portkey home at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Poppy, Minerva, and Tom often used the time until dinner to go flying. The older Hogwarts students knew the trio, and the members of the Quidditch teams, who were mostly practising between the last afternoon class and dinner, always kept an eye on them, so Theresa and Ginevra could let them go out onto the grounds on their own.

One day in early spring when the grounds were still covered by snow, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was practising, while Minerva, Poppy, and Tom were circling below them on their children's brooms. All of a sudden, the Snitch decided to fly very low above the ground, where the students could hardly see it right over the white ground.

"The Snitch," Minerva shouted happily and dashed away on her broom, hurriedly grasping the tiny ball in her hands. She proudly returned the Snitch to the students, who laughed at the excited girl and thanked her profusely.

"That was so much fun," she told Poppy and Tom, "let's try to always catch their Snitch."

Unfortunately, the Snitch normally chose a height to which the children's brooms wouldn't allow the kids to fly. However, one day, Tom noticed a movement quite high in the air and far away from the students. In a bout of accidental magic, he broke all the safety charms that were applied on his broom and speedily flew up to catch the Snitch, leaving Minerva and Poppy to watch in horror as he flew higher and higher.

Unfortunately, after managing to catch the Snitch he proudly looked down to his friends, only now realizing the terrifying height he was flying at. The four-year-old began to cry and, still clasping the Snitch in one hand, lost the grip on his broom and tumbled down towards the grounds.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - My muse appreciates them very much!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


End file.
